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Date: 2nd to 6th August 2015
New York, United States of America Proposal Deadline: July 7th 2015 Join us at our 2015 International Business Conference in New York City, at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel! The conference provides a forum for faculty and administrators to present their research on all aspects of business/education. |
Friday, March 6, 2015
Call for Papers: 2015 International Business Conference New York City
Downtown Partnership Fosters San Diego Business Growth
The Downtown San Diego Partnership elected a new
board of directors to help manage and foster future business growth. The partnership is designed to brand,
revitalize, and create economic growth for the city. Keeping San Diego’s
downtown developing and adapting helps raise the economic stature of the city
through collaborative effort that improves the business attractiveness of the
city.
It is beneficial to understand what a Business
Improvement District is (BID). BID’s levy additional taxes on businesses within
the district and use that money to improve the management of the area. It is
like having an additional service on top of existing governmental services.
Businesses willingly pay the extra cost because they can create collective
benefits that they wouldn’t be able to do on their own.
BIDs create additional value for these businesses by
creating better environments. For example, in North Carolina a survey found
that local business owners thought highly of the BIDs ability to raise retail
and property values (Ha & Grunwell, 2014). Sharing marketing resources and keeping
the area consumer friendly helps all members of the community.
Businesses that work in collaboration with each
other find ways of improving their business models. BIDs offer an opportunity
for downtown businesses to develop their brand image and improve on their
innovative abilities (Byrne, 2014). As these businesses begin to develop and
grow that revenue can be used to strengthen the competitive nature of San Diego’s
downtown area.
Opening a business in the downtown area has obvious
benefits for customer attraction and business connections. You might want to
check out the
benefits of membership. A younger generation of talent and shoppers are
attracted to metro areas that offer them a number of shopping amenities in a
small area. Developing stronger downtown business management that keeps the
area clean, safe, and attractive has positive benefits for the quality of life and
economic sustainability of the area.
Byrne, K. (2014). Hubs of Innovation. Site Selection, 59 (4).
Ha, I. & Grunwell, S. (2014). Estimating the
economic benefits a business improvement district would provide for a downtown
central business district. Journal of
Economic & Economic Education Research, 15 (3).
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Business Schools that Exceed Market Expectations
Meeting and exceeding standards are two different things. Fostering business schools requires meeting expectations and then moving beyond these expectations to create higher levels of performance. According to a paper in the Journal of Business Studies Quarterly there are 10 things business colleges can do to enhance their performance.
- Look beyond today’s practices and standards and move toward future trends in business education.
- Applying knowledge management practices to create value.
- Acting in practice and philosophy.
- Accept risk when moving beyond theory and practice.
- Hire faculty and deans who think outside the box.
- Follow Kaizen philosophy.
- Understand the educational needs of the market.
- Stay ahead of the market and be read to change as needed.
- Develop a unique value proposition.
- Listen to the needs of stakeholders.
It matters little if you are discussing a business school or any other type of school. Many of the ideas would apply to almost any business. Moving beyond standards requires finding ways to meet minimum qualifications and then push for growth. By looking to match company development to market needs and ensuring you have the right staff in place to make that happen is half the battle. The other half is getting everyone focused on the same goals.
McFarlane, D. (2014). Contemporary barriers to excellence in business education. A Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 6 (2).
Report on Cyberbullying in Online Higher Education
Donna DiMatteo-Gibson, PhD
Paula J. Zobisch, PhD
Andree Swanson, EdD
The research in cyberbullying has been heavily focused on elementary and secondary education; however, cyberbullying permeates throughout online higher education. The challenges regarding bullying in higher education are the need to define cyberbullying, detect cyberbullying, and how to respond to cyberbullying when it is occurring. Policies and best practices must be in place to minimize these occurrences for students and professors. Procedures on what students and faculty can utilize will be recommended based on survey results.
Literature Review
Misawa and Rowland (2015) reviewed academic bullying as it takes place in adult education, higher education, continuing education, and professional education. Misawa and Rowland found that in higher education, cyberbullying frequently was focused on racism and homophobia. Unbelievably, Misawa and Rowland also found evidence of gender and race cyberbullying. In fact, they found that faculty were often mean to one another.
Morgan (2012) in a review of cyberbullying found that because of the anonymity of individuals on the Internet, they found a form of bravery by threatening others through the veil of the Internet. “The higher degree of anonymity afforded to students on the Internet allows bullies to have less fear of disciplinary action as a result of their nefarious activity” (Morgan, 2012, p. 175). Morgan stressed that a plan needs to be in place to deal with the inevitable attack. “Unfortunately, many teachers do not have enough training of knowledge on how to respond to bullying” (p. 176).
Rivituso (2014) conducted a study using Bandura’s Theory of Tradic Reciprocal Determinism and the General Strain Theory as a framework. Six themes emerged:
1) repeated instances leading to feelings of vulnerability and fear; 2) distrust of technology and mistrust of people; 3) the value of friends in college and their impact on victim self-esteem; 4) self-control in response to lack of control over cyberbullying instances; 5) feelings of stress, depression, and embarrassment; 6) frustration leading to self-blame. (Rivituso, 2014, para. Abstract)
A 2013 study surveyed 202 online faculty members who were asked whether or not the faculty member could identify what constitutes cyberbullying and if the faculty member understood how to cope with cyberbullying. The findings from the study indicated that 50% of the faculty who had experienced cyberbullying (Smith, Minor, & Brashen, 2012). Although very few studies have been conducted that assess cyberbullying at the higher education online level (Eskey, Taylor, & Eskey, Jr., 2014a; Eskey & Eskey, Jr., 2014b; Smith, Minor, & et al.), the findings were supported by Smith et al. whose study results showed 17% to 30% of faculty had experienced some type of cyberbullying.
The findings of the studies indicate educational institutions need to address the issue of cyberbullying as well as methods to cope and/or reduce cyberbullying. Methods could include faculty training as well as addressing the issue of cyberbullying in the school’s faculty and student handbooks (Eskey et al., 2014a; Eskey & Eskey, Jr., 2014b). An organization’s legal department should be able to provide insight into potential policies and protocols.
Washington (2015) specifically addressed cyberbullying and the law. “To date, 18 states have laws to address cyberbullying, compared with 49 states, all except Montana, having laws to address bullying (Hinduja & Patching, 2013)” (Washington, 2015, p. 24). Although state laws focus on the k-12 arena, nowhere (federal or state) addresses cyberbullying. In 2009, a cyberbullying prevention act was introduced into Congress, but was not successfully passed. Specifically, the business college in this current study has campuses in California, Colorado, and Iowa, thus, these states were reviewed for their legislation on cyberbullying.
Results and Discussion
Our study has shown that cyberbullying is a serious issue that must be addressed when it comes to faculty teaching at online schools. The importance of investigating cyberbullying and netiquette issues within online institutions was emphasized. Also, the complexities in regards to defining cyberbullying and how to best respond to these issues was addressed. Our study addressed that recognizing what is and is not cyberbullying is an ongoing task; however, recognizing differences between cyberbullying and netiquette was not a concern. Even though a majority of our participants indicated that they knew how to respond to cyberbullying issues, there was still a sizable percentage that did not.
Our study addressed differences between netiquette and cyberbullying. By obtaining this survey data, we highlighted the importance of schools ensuring that online faculty understand what are netiquette and cyberbullying issues as well as outlining how to respond to such instances.
Concluding Comments
Paula J. Zobisch, PhD
Andree Swanson, EdD
The research in cyberbullying has been heavily focused on elementary and secondary education; however, cyberbullying permeates throughout online higher education. The challenges regarding bullying in higher education are the need to define cyberbullying, detect cyberbullying, and how to respond to cyberbullying when it is occurring. Policies and best practices must be in place to minimize these occurrences for students and professors. Procedures on what students and faculty can utilize will be recommended based on survey results.
Literature Review
Misawa and Rowland (2015) reviewed academic bullying as it takes place in adult education, higher education, continuing education, and professional education. Misawa and Rowland found that in higher education, cyberbullying frequently was focused on racism and homophobia. Unbelievably, Misawa and Rowland also found evidence of gender and race cyberbullying. In fact, they found that faculty were often mean to one another.
Morgan (2012) in a review of cyberbullying found that because of the anonymity of individuals on the Internet, they found a form of bravery by threatening others through the veil of the Internet. “The higher degree of anonymity afforded to students on the Internet allows bullies to have less fear of disciplinary action as a result of their nefarious activity” (Morgan, 2012, p. 175). Morgan stressed that a plan needs to be in place to deal with the inevitable attack. “Unfortunately, many teachers do not have enough training of knowledge on how to respond to bullying” (p. 176).
Rivituso (2014) conducted a study using Bandura’s Theory of Tradic Reciprocal Determinism and the General Strain Theory as a framework. Six themes emerged:
1) repeated instances leading to feelings of vulnerability and fear; 2) distrust of technology and mistrust of people; 3) the value of friends in college and their impact on victim self-esteem; 4) self-control in response to lack of control over cyberbullying instances; 5) feelings of stress, depression, and embarrassment; 6) frustration leading to self-blame. (Rivituso, 2014, para. Abstract)
A 2013 study surveyed 202 online faculty members who were asked whether or not the faculty member could identify what constitutes cyberbullying and if the faculty member understood how to cope with cyberbullying. The findings from the study indicated that 50% of the faculty who had experienced cyberbullying (Smith, Minor, & Brashen, 2012). Although very few studies have been conducted that assess cyberbullying at the higher education online level (Eskey, Taylor, & Eskey, Jr., 2014a; Eskey & Eskey, Jr., 2014b; Smith, Minor, & et al.), the findings were supported by Smith et al. whose study results showed 17% to 30% of faculty had experienced some type of cyberbullying.
The findings of the studies indicate educational institutions need to address the issue of cyberbullying as well as methods to cope and/or reduce cyberbullying. Methods could include faculty training as well as addressing the issue of cyberbullying in the school’s faculty and student handbooks (Eskey et al., 2014a; Eskey & Eskey, Jr., 2014b). An organization’s legal department should be able to provide insight into potential policies and protocols.
Washington (2015) specifically addressed cyberbullying and the law. “To date, 18 states have laws to address cyberbullying, compared with 49 states, all except Montana, having laws to address bullying (Hinduja & Patching, 2013)” (Washington, 2015, p. 24). Although state laws focus on the k-12 arena, nowhere (federal or state) addresses cyberbullying. In 2009, a cyberbullying prevention act was introduced into Congress, but was not successfully passed. Specifically, the business college in this current study has campuses in California, Colorado, and Iowa, thus, these states were reviewed for their legislation on cyberbullying.
Results and Discussion
Our study has shown that cyberbullying is a serious issue that must be addressed when it comes to faculty teaching at online schools. The importance of investigating cyberbullying and netiquette issues within online institutions was emphasized. Also, the complexities in regards to defining cyberbullying and how to best respond to these issues was addressed. Our study addressed that recognizing what is and is not cyberbullying is an ongoing task; however, recognizing differences between cyberbullying and netiquette was not a concern. Even though a majority of our participants indicated that they knew how to respond to cyberbullying issues, there was still a sizable percentage that did not.
Our study addressed differences between netiquette and cyberbullying. By obtaining this survey data, we highlighted the importance of schools ensuring that online faculty understand what are netiquette and cyberbullying issues as well as outlining how to respond to such instances.
Concluding Comments
The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and understanding
of cyberbullying and netiquette within the school of business at an online
university. Faculty, both part-time and full-time, were asked questions
regarding their understanding of cyberbullying, netiquette, and how to respond
to it and report it. Based on the data from this study, the researchers created
a list of best practices for creating policies, procedures, and implementing
training. The researchers developed a list of best practices for incorporating
an awareness and reporting of cyberbullying and netiquette issues:
1. Review current faculty policies and procedures.
a. Are they current?
b. Do they address the procedures for faculty to report and respond to cyberbullying?
c. Provide examples
2. Review current student policies and procedures.
a. Are they current?
b. Do they address the address appropriate netiquette?
c. Provide examples
3. Create a cyberbullying email or hotline for faculty to report cyberbullying.
a. Ensure a response to faculty within 24 hours
b. Assign a trained person to respond to emails
4. Create faculty training via webinar, tutorial, and or job aid on how to recognize and report cyberbullying and inappropriate netiquette.
We had many strengths that came out of this study. The strengths were that the researchers focused on one online school of business, which helped to focus our research efforts. These results can be generalized to other schools and online faculty by replicating the study through different online colleges and universities. Another strength that we experienced was that the Dean of the school supported the study and provided the researchers with a specific database of faculty addresses. This helped to connect with this particular sample of participants. The researchers attempted another study by reaching online faculty through social media (Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter) and did not have success that we had hoped. In regards to the limitations of the study, the participants self-reported on cyberbullying or netiquette instances. An observation style experiment may result in different perspectives on cyberbullying and netiquette especially since the literature has indicated that sometimes cyberbullying occurs but online faculty do not recognize certain instances as cyberbullying Participants may also have experience teaching at other online colleges or universities that may have different policies, procedures, and experiences and this can add to our results.
***This is an excerpt from a paper that will be presented at the DLA 2015 Conference (http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/)***
1. Review current faculty policies and procedures.
a. Are they current?
b. Do they address the procedures for faculty to report and respond to cyberbullying?
c. Provide examples
2. Review current student policies and procedures.
a. Are they current?
b. Do they address the address appropriate netiquette?
c. Provide examples
3. Create a cyberbullying email or hotline for faculty to report cyberbullying.
a. Ensure a response to faculty within 24 hours
b. Assign a trained person to respond to emails
4. Create faculty training via webinar, tutorial, and or job aid on how to recognize and report cyberbullying and inappropriate netiquette.
We had many strengths that came out of this study. The strengths were that the researchers focused on one online school of business, which helped to focus our research efforts. These results can be generalized to other schools and online faculty by replicating the study through different online colleges and universities. Another strength that we experienced was that the Dean of the school supported the study and provided the researchers with a specific database of faculty addresses. This helped to connect with this particular sample of participants. The researchers attempted another study by reaching online faculty through social media (Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter) and did not have success that we had hoped. In regards to the limitations of the study, the participants self-reported on cyberbullying or netiquette instances. An observation style experiment may result in different perspectives on cyberbullying and netiquette especially since the literature has indicated that sometimes cyberbullying occurs but online faculty do not recognize certain instances as cyberbullying Participants may also have experience teaching at other online colleges or universities that may have different policies, procedures, and experiences and this can add to our results.
***This is an excerpt from a paper that will be presented at the DLA 2015 Conference (http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/)***
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Benefits and Detractors of Bungalow Homes in San Diego
San Diego City Council tentatively approved Bungalow homes in San Diego. It as idea that includes breaking multi-unit properties into small bungalow style houses that allow for more housing ownership and could potentially help in reducing the excessive cost of housing. The benefits and detractors of bungalow homes appears to be a numbers game that allows for the placement of more homes on a single piece of land. One of the best ways to increase active participation in neighborhoods is to increase ownership. It would seem that taking existing multi-unit homes where rentals are common and breaking them into many more small homes would be beneficial. It increases the amount of people and the management of space on a single lot.
People who own their homes have a vested interest in their neighborhoods and the community. Their property value is reflected by crime rates, cleanliness, housing condition, schools, and more. Raising the amount of home owners in San Diego also raises their interests in the community.
The mechanics of demand and supply can impact housing costs. Singles and starting families can purchase homes much cheaper than they could a much larger home. It gives them a way to build a level of equity without having to pay for all the extras they may not need. Small homes may not flatter their ego but do provide value in its fundamental purpose.
A potential detractor to this policy may depend on how many units are being converted. If developers are taking 4 unit apartments and breaking them down into 3 bungalows there isn't much advantage for San Diego housing. The goal should be to increase the effective use of land and space by adding more units to the system. Two unit multi-family houses should become three bungalows, etc...
Time will tell if the policy makes sense. If the policy works well it should be expanded to single-family neighborhoods; especially in areas in need of revitalization. As San Diego struggles with housing costs, old infrastructure, and a new generation of people who want to buy homes they will need new solutions. Some will work and some won't. It is the process of trying, learning and developing that makes all the difference in the long run.
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